A Hero's Soul
by Love-The-Spaz
Summary: When an old foe reemerges after the Second Gigantomachy, are the Olympians ready to defend their home?


**Percy Jackson: A Hero's Soul**

 **This might turn out to be a Guardian of the Hunt story, just so you don't hate me if you read this. To be honest, I have no idea where it will go from here, at the time I am writing this. Also, Percy'll be brutal and you'll find out why if you read the story. That sounded really advertise-y. Ok i'm done talking**

 **When an old foe reemerges after the Second Gigantomachy, are the Olympians ready to defend their home?**

 **1**

 **Smoke**. The son of Poseidon was very familiar with the shroud-like substance that floated upwards toward the sky in a circular motion. However, this time, the smoke was not a cause for alarm. It was a celebration. The campfire grew higher and higher, seemingly encouraged by the increasing decibels of the joyous tunes the half-bloods sang.

Percy watched with a sparkle in his eye as his friends sat around him, their arms around each other's shoulders, and swayed to and fro to the music. 'The Apollo cabin was on their game tonight,' Percy thought, 'and this picture could not be made better.'

Gaea was downed. They had all survived, though it seemed doubtful at times. But maybe that was the intriguing thing about Perseus Jackson, the son of the stormbringer. Odds failed to factor into the equation when he was involved.

In a normal battle, strategy and sheer numbers dictated the victorious party the majority of the time. When the variable that was Percy Jackson was added into the pot, dozens of other possible scenarios could occur.

Yes, the son of Poseidon had seen many of his plans go awry, and despite all of that, he and his wise girl had still made it out alive. "What're you thinking about?" Annabeth asked, squeezing Percy's waist with the arm that was wrapped around him.

The child of the first great prophecy replied with a light squeeze of his own, kissing his girlfriend on the top of her head. "Just reflecting. We've been through a lot, y'know."

She sighed, laying her head on his broad chest. "Yeah. I know. We might even go through more. But you and I will face it together."

Percy smiled, staring sleepily as the tendrils of fire seemed to dance, framed by the dark background of the night sky. "Mhmm." He agreed.

Nearly an hour later, the campers were sluggishly retreating to their cabins for the night, the campfire dying down slowly. Annabeth had long since fallen asleep, using her boyfriend as a pillow, and Percy tried to rouse her from her slumber.

"Wise Girl." He whispered, brushing a long strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"Go 'way," she mumbled, half-asleep, burying her face further into Percy's chest.

Sighing, but not incredibly disappointed, the son of Poseidon lifted the daughter of Athena carrying her bridal style. She let out a surprised shriek, clutching Percy tightly by his neck.

"Seaweed Brain!" She exclaimed, holding on to make sure she wouldn't be dropped, "Put me down!"

Percy let out a loud laugh, picking up speed as he ran toward the Athena cabin. She squealed, and the son of Poseidon set her down lightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Wise Girl."

She smiled sheepishly at him, darting up to peck him on the lips once. "You'd better hope so, Seaweed Brain." Percy let out a loud genuine laugh, and Annabeth slipped into her cabin.

…

" **Aaauuuagh,"** Percy groaned, rolling over, his limbs still intertwined with the sheets on his bed. _Thud!_

He rubbed his cheek, "Ow," he spoke, picking himself up from the floor.

Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was too high in the sky for it to still be time for breakfast. 'Huh.' He thought, 'I must've overslept.'

He ambled over to his drawers, picking out his clothes for the day. He chose a light blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Once he was done, he stumbled over to the exit of Cabin 2. Opening the door, he winced slightly at the bright sun. 'Apollo must be happy.' He mused, narrowing his eyes until they readjusted.

The son of Poseidon saw that the campers had already begun their activities for the day, so he decided to go talk to Chiron. As he neared the big house, he saw his centaur mentor and Mr. D sitting alone on the deck, playing Pinochle as they usually do, "Chiron!" He exclaimed, announcing his presence to the both of them.

Dionysus sighed loudly, not appreciating Percy's interruption at all, and threw his cards down. "Oh great," He spoke, his voice laced with thick sarcasm, "Peter Johnson here to save the day once again."

Chiron gave his immortal friend an exasperated glance, before addressing the son of Poseidon. "Percy, my boy, how are you? I told the others to let you sleep in, since defeating Mother Earth seems like it could be quite the hassle."

The demigod gave a nervous laugh at his joke, before presenting the question he had come to his mentor to ask, "Is there anything you need me to do?"

Chiron mulled the question over, rubbing his beard as he did so, "Hmm… No, I do not believe so. Clarisse is teaching melee combat today, and the Naiads are helping with the canoes. You have the day to yourself, Perseus."

The son of Poseidon smiled at his answer, feeling pleased that he had no responsibilities for the day. "Okay, thanks. I think I'll take a walk around the border of camp, maybe go exploring in the woods for a while." The boy gave them a wave of dismissal as he jogged away.

Percy took a deep breath as he neared the stables, looking for his raven-colored equestrian friend. He scanned the area with his eyes, but found nothing. Disappointed, he let out a long, low whistle.

As the demigod waited, he looked down and realized that a large shadow was being cast, completely erasing his own. He looked up, spotting the raven Pegasus hovering above himself. _Hey boss,_ the equine creature began, _you rang?_

Percy chuckled, raising a hand to scratch Blackjack's flank as he landed, "What have I told you about calling me boss?"

The horse gave the equivalent of a Pegasus-shrug, _Honestly, boss, a lotta the stuff people say to me goes in one ear, and out the other._

Perseus laughed again, "We'll have to work on that, then."

Blackjack closed his eyes tightly, and a bright flash occurred behind the son of Poseidon. _Uh, I'll see you later, boss. Good luck with… whatever._

The Pegasus flew off, leaving Percy there. The demigod slowly turned around, only to be greeted by the sight of the sun god. He grumbled under his breath, slowly lowering himself to a kneeling position. "Lord Apollo," he greeted, "To what do I owe this visit?"

The Olympian flashed a blinding smile, grabbing Percy by the shoulders and hauling him to his feet. "Please, Percy, my friends call me Apollo. We're friends, right?" He paused, resting a hand on his chin and thinking for a second. Before the son of Poseidon could respond, he resumed his monologue. "Anyway, I need your help."

Percy sighed, shoulders slumping, "Yeah, that seems about right."

"I know what you're thinking. 'Another stupid mission that I'm being sent on because the Gods couldn't handle their own stuff.' You're partially right. So, y'see, my sister is on a mission. Apparently, a very strong presence escaped from Tartarus recently. So far, no one knows who or what it is. My father has assigned my sister to hunt it down and dispose of it."

The son of Poseidon sighed once again, "Lord Apollo, with all due respect, how does this involve me? If Lady Artemis can't control this thing, why do you think I can?"

The sun god moved adjacent to Percy, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Kid, you're the best there is. I'm not expecting for you to beat this alone; you'll have my baby sister there to help you. Also, I'm not asking you to fight everything you see. If Arty encounters whatever this unknown threat is, I'm asking you to make sure she doesn't die."

"Ok. How long do you think this will take?" Perseus looked up at the Olympian skeptically.

"I don't really have a time table. Zeus says Artemis is supposed to keep tracking this thing until it either goes away, or we figure out what it is, and make a plan on how to proceed from there."

Percy sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How long do I have before you need me to leave?"

Apollo looked up at the sun's position in the sky. "Well, we need to leave before sundown. I'll let you go get your affairs in order, and then meet me at Thalia's Pine."

"I'll be there, Lord Apollo." The son of Poseidon responded, a bit dejectedly.

…

 **Annabeth** sat, observing Chiron and Mr. D as they partook in the game the Olympian enjoyed, also known as Pinochle. "Annie Bell," the god began with a drawl, not looking away from the cards that were dealt to him, "you really should play with us sometime. Pinochle really is much more fun with a crowd."

The daughter of Athena politely shook her head, before realizing he was not looking at her. "No thank you, Mr. D. I am sure both you and Chiron are much too experienced for a beginner like myself to challenge either of you."

The god put on a contemplative face, "Hmm. I suppose you are right, girl. After all, I am a master at this game."

Chiron's eyes widened dramatically, and he nearly snorted at the Olympian's narcissistic declaration. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves." He attempted to quell Dionysus's ego surge, before looking past him and spying the son of Poseidon approaching the Big House porch. "Percy, my boy, back so soon?"

The demigod climbed the steps up to the wooden platform slowly, and two-thirds of the current porch occupants-Dionysus was busy inspecting the cards he'd already been over umpteen times-could tell that something was amiss.

"Seaweed Brain, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked, concern adorning her features as she observed her long-time friend and boyfriend.

Percy looked up, his downcast appearance telegraphing the direction their conversation would take, "Um, I just got back from talking with Lord Apollo."

The daughter of Athena tilted her head to the side, clearly not understanding why he would be upset by that, "Yeah? And what did he want?"

The son of Poseidon let out a sigh, looking up to the sky, then back down at the leader of cabin six. "He told me that he needed me to go on a quest."

Annabeth became unraveled, standing to her feet and rushing to get in her boyfriend's face, "WHAT? Percy, we just got back from a war!" She put emphasis on the final word, trying to stress the importance of what she was trying to convey. "Not to mention that we have an oracle to give out quests!"

Percy sighed once more, gently grabbing Annabeth's arms so he could look her in her face, "Wise Girl," he started, his voice gentle, "an Olympian just asked me to do something for them. I don't exactly have many choices here."

The daughter of Athena looked back towards Chiron, her eyes pleading for her mentor to say something in her favor. "My dear, he does have a point. It is not wise to say no to a god."

Annabeth let out a huff, clearly upset with the situation they were in. "When will you get back?"

Percy let out a sheepish smile, with a hint of sadness in it, "I don't know yet."

Annabeth's eyes darkened, sending a fierce glare Percy's way. "When do you leave?"

"Lord Apollo wants me to meet him at the hill by sundown."

Annabeth looked up at him, pulling him into a crushing hug and burying her face in his chest. "Be careful, Seaweed Brain."

Percy let out a laugh, embracing her as well, "Always, Wise Girl."

 **...**

 **When** Percy arrived at Thalia's Pine, the sun was already setting. The sun god, however, was lounging at the base of the tree, lazily petting Peleus's tail. "Perce, man, you made it!"

The son of Poseidon gave Apollo a quizzical look, "What? I was beginning to think you ditched me."

Percy chuckled, "I wouldn't do that. You can never have too many favors to cash in, right?"

Apollo grinned, his smile lighting up the area, "That's what I like to hear!"

As the sun god climbed to his feet, Percy looked around the hill, "How are we getting there?"

Apollo's grin expanded, a feat which Percy hadn't believed possible. The Olympian brought two fingers to his lips, letting out an ear-piercing whistle.

"Agh!" Percy brought his hands up to his head, covering his ears to protect his eardrums. "A little warning first, next time."

Apollo grinned once more, "Heads up."

" _Ugh."_ Percy let out a grunt as a mass of black fur collided with him, knocking him off of his feet and sending him into the dirt.

The son of Poseidon opened his eyes and was met with a large wet pink object obscuring his view, and slobbering all over his face. "Hey, Mrs O'Leary. How ya doin', girl?"

The friendly hellhound let out a happy bark in response, continuing to lick the son of Poseidon all over his face.

Apollo moseyed over to where they were, bending over to whisper something in the hellhound's ear. He straightened up, "While you two get acquainted, I think I'm just gonna go."

"Wait!" Percy exclaimed as Apollo walked away. "How am I gonna know where to go?"

Apollo grinned at him once more, beginning to glow. "She's got you covered, Perce." A thoughtful expression adorned his features. "One more thing: Nico said if anything happens to her, he'll be coming for you."

Percy closed his eyes tightly as the god teleported away, and wondered what his last message meant.

Mrs O'Leary retreated from her position on Percy's chest, lowering her body so he could climb on her back. Percy clambered to his feet, and trudged over to her, his packed duffle bag in hand. "Okay girl, let's go hunting."

 **I've been away from writing for a little while, so this was a short thing to get me back in. I'm not entirely sure when this will be updated, but I do know that I'll be updating each of my stories one chapter at a time. (that means i'll be writing a chapter for each before advancing any further in any of them).**

 **Thanks**

 **LTS**


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